True, often you see poor households in the country that are the very picture of squalor, trash is piled high everywhere you look, wrecked vehicles all over, the residents unbathed probably.
OTOH, you more often see equally poor households in the country where everything is tidy and picked up, the folk don't have much, but they manage to make a life that is not too terrible.
In post #9, I seem to be thinking along similar lines to you.
Didn't know you were a horseman. I grew up around them, as I grew up in a very rural area, of which they were a part. 'Course I'm allergic to the things. How do you feel about racing?
I love diesel trucks (and diesel engines in general) and drive a diesel pickup.
I love diesel trucks (and diesel engines in general) and drive a diesel pickup.
I consider diesels a necessary evil. The smell of diesel on a cold, wet morning reminds me of the Army, and the feelings of misery I have on mornings like that.
As far as horse racing goes, I don't oppose it, but I don't like it either, for a couple of reasons. For one, the big stakes racing treats horses like race cars. Very expensive, but ultimately disposable. I don't mind seeing $250K cars trashed, as long as the driver doesn't get hurt. Not the same with race horses, who are started out young, and used up fast. A long life is assured only if the horse seems like good breeding stock.
The casinos in Detroit have virtually wrecked horse racing in Michigan. That means a lot of horses get sold off for dogfood. But it also means that some horses get sold to good families for a low price, just to save their lives. That's how a friend bought a wonderful TB mare off the race track. Emeraud's previous owner decided it was better to sell her to a good home for $1000, than get $1500 for dogfood. I can see why she was a failure as a race horse, with her "what, you want ME to gallop?" attitude. But she has the most fluid canter I've ever seen in a horse, which she passes on to her kids, who all have the potential to be olympic-caliber eventers.
So I won't be too sad seeing horse racing go away, due to its high potential for abuse, along with some of the other equine events. Maybe that's because I work in the smaller local dressage schooling shows, where the horse is part of the family, and is expected to be treated as such. Suspected abuse gets a stern warning of dire consequences. Witnessed abuse gets the cops called.